A few weeks back when I was at work, I was pondering about what fun Southern California activity my family and I could enjoy over the weekend. Being from Las Vegas, Southern California was always the destination for a quick weekend getaway. So, it comes as no surprise that there are many things we have seen and done already. It was hard trying to find an activity we could do as a family that did not cost an arm and a leg and was something new to do. I asked my co-workers if they had any suggestions and one of them asked: "Have you ever visited Julian?" I told her that I had not and asked what was there to do there and she quickly replied that it is an old mining town situated in the mountains that are famous for their apple pies. Naturally, I was intrigued.
Julian, California is a designated California Historical Landmark. In 1869, gold was first discovered in a creek just west of Julian and soon after on February 22, 1870, the first gold mine was established. Word spread and soon hundreds of men and their families were rushing to the area to stake their claims, creating a gold rush. The town grew and so did their apple orchards. Today, Julian has a population of 1,502 and is known for their annual Julian Apple Days Festival and their famous apple pies.
We set out early in the morning after a quick breakfast with plans of eating pie and touring the Eagle and High Point Mines. After driving down the winding, mountain roads we finally arrived at this cute, authentic western town. I am not sure if it was because it was Veteran's Day or if the crowds we saw are an every weekend kind of thing but this town was PACKED with tourists. There was absolutely no place to park your car. Our first plan was to walk around the main street and check out the shops but we took one look and said "NO WAY! Let's just head over to the mine".
We drove my cute two-wheel drive Fiat up the dirt, pot-holed road to the mine. I must admit I was not all that impressed upon first glance and I could tell nobody else was either. If you plan on visiting Julian, be sure to bring lots of cash. We are normally debit card people who never have cash on us, so when it came time to pay for our admittance, there was an issue. If you sit and listen to everybody's conversation you will hear that everyone else did not bring cash either. The folks at the mine must be used to this and actually are very trusting. They tell everyone who does not bring cash to just go ahead and do the tour and afterward drive down to the gas station and get cash from the ATM. That gas station owner or the owner of that particular ATM must make a killing off all these unplanned cash withdrawls!
I will say the highlight of the trip was the actual mine tour. I have been partially inside some mines but not totally exploring deep inside like you get to here. Our tour guide even turned off all the lights so we could see just how dark pitch black really is and then lit a candle similar to ones used by the miners over a hundred years ago. There is no way I would have ever found my way out of those tunnels without modern lights!
After the mine tour we drove down the road and was lucky enough to find a parking spot right on the main road. We at lunch at Miner's Diner after a 45min wait due to the enormous amount of people who also wanted food. I was expecting some small, lame burger but I was pleasantly surprised with a large, juicy, not overcooked burger and french fries galore. After filling our bellies with diner food, we strolled down the road to Julian Pie Company and got ourselves a whole apple-pumpkin pie to go.
If you ever find yourself in Southern California in the fall and are looking for something just a little different to do, I highly suggest visiting Julian. Just be sure to bring lots of cash with you!
